Author: Welcome true believers! It's the season of giving! I'll bet that Thanksgiving dinner filled you up, but now it's time to tide you guys over with another chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own the MMZ series. Capcom owns that. I do own my own created characters, and the three Silhouettes (even though they aren't silhouettes anymore, I just wanted to refer to them as that).
Five for Fighting Fefnir
Zero would never believe that there would be a time where he would be teaming up with the Three Guardians.
Of course, he also didn't think the Guardians could believe it either. Zero had single-handedly defeated all of them and now they needed his help against some new powerful foes. He wondered how strong they were. Could the Legendary Maverick Hunter survive against them by himself? Zero was seldom boastful, but he had the idea in the back of his head that he could take them on. Perhaps it was an old cocky feeling from the years before. In any case, this announcement excited him. He was finally going to get his hands on Reploforce, and really stop them from causing any more harm. Maybe it's possible that if he were to help Neo Arcadia, the humans would respect the Resistance more. Maybe even agree to terms for peace?
The Blond Bomber thought wishfully lying on his bed. He had enough of the capsule treatment after what happened before, and the last thing Cerveau needed was to pay for new capsules. For a Legendary Maverick Hunter, whose skills are nearly unrivaled, he was quite a klutz. He chuckled softly, imagining the look on Cerveau's face every time he would wreck something. Although these incidents would be accidental, Zero found a guilty pleasure to see what color face Cerveau would turn. So far, it turned pink and red. Hopefully, he would get to see purple.
The Three Silhouettes somehow tampered with the trans system, only allowing two beings to cross into the Temples of Fire, Ice, and Wind. Why wouldn't they just only allow one? Do they think even two wouldn't beat them? This confused Zero, and immediately he thought of the idea that maybe they were trying to set the Resistance up, perhaps using the challenge for a distraction. Maybe they only allowed two to slow their pace down. But why? Their motives were obviously to eradicate the human race and pave the way for a world only for Reploids, but why would they waste their time playing around with the Guardians and Zero? They must have something else planned. But what?
Zero's thoughts were interrupted when the doors slid open. Max stood outside the room. Zero wasn't exactly mad when he came in, but he didn't like the idea that the doors just slide open to anyone. Why doesn't the Resistance make locks for these doors? I mean, people just stand outside and the doors magically slide open! He remembered he did barge into other people's room as well, and all he had to do was to stand in front of the door. So much for privacy.
"Zero! What the hell were you thinking? You brought in the Guardians!" Max elevated his voice after each word, putting more stress on the word "Guardians."
Oh yeah, the little truce. "Er, we agreed to a truce with Neo Arcadia, so we're helping the Guardians take back Neo Arcadia." Zero scratched the back of his head.
"Damn it, Zero! They're treating the base like they live here! Come see for yourself!" Max stomped out of the room without Zero, who followed closely behind.
They both walked into the cafeteria. When the doors slid open, the room was packed. It seemed that Harpuia, Leviathan, and Fefnir attracted much attention. Fefnir was in right side of the cafeteria, arm wrestling with some soldiers (three at a time) while the rest were cheering. Leviathan sat on the tables on the left side, talking with the reploids soldiers, who gawked at her beauty. She noticed that they weren't listening (they were looking), but she liked the attention. Every time Leviathan flipped her hair, the soldiers watched it hang with their eyes fixated on her hair. Harpuia hung in the back of the cafeteria, watching the two other Guardians fool around. He didn't seem to notice a group of 'ploid girls cooing at his boyish looks.
"See? Go tell them to get out of here!" Max's voice was loud enough to silence the entire cafeteria. Everyone looked at him, especially the Guardians. The other Resistance members couldn't believe that Max had the balls to tell the Guardians to get out. Most of the soldiers showed this by keeping shut, afraid that the Guardians might start attacking Max or even them. Fefnir was about to set Max straight and Leviathan scoffed and flipped her hair. Harpuia walked towards Max, but he past him instead. When they crossed each other, their eyes met. Each of them had a sense of malice hidden within them, but Harpuia maintained his hardened composure. The Emerald Guardian then set his eyes on Zero.
"I'm going to go train. It's boring here."
"Just go to the Command Room. Don't take too long, we have to take back Neo Arcadia, remember?" Zero crossed his arms and smirked.
"How could I forget?" Harpuia didn't smirk and walked towards the Command Room. His back was turned to everyone, but he smirked.
Zero turned to Leviathan and Fefnir. "I thought you guys were still recovering, so how come you both are up?"
Leviathan answered for Fefnir and herself. "We still are, it's just that we are able to move around, but not battle." She turned to Fefnir. "As for Fefnir, however, he's already arm wrestling. He should be ready to go by now." She smirked deviously. She knew that Fefnir didn't want to go right away, but she also knew that Fefnir was too proud (and egotistic) to admit that he wasn't ready. The hothead Guardian stood up.
"Hell yeah I'm ready! Let's go right now!" Fefnir posed all macho, partially to prove he was ready for action, and partially to impress the reploid girls who were gawking at Harpuia. They weren't impressed, and Fefnir's ego diminished a little bit. Zero walked up to Fefnir, looking up and down to his body, examining his physical condition. He looked fine, but Zero studied Fefnir's left pectoral area and poked it with his finger. Fefnir fell to his knees and held his wound.
"Ow! Damn it, Zero!" Fefnir shook his free fist at Zero.
"Nice try, Fefnir. We'll wait until tomorrow. Those gates should hold the Reploforce guys off for quite a while." Zero chuckled.
Leviathan giggled softly, and the soldiers who were watching could have passed out from the sight if her. Zero noticed every time she giggled, her hair waved back and forth and eventually fell back on her shoulders. The way her hair moved was like an ocean, swaying back and forth. The true blue color of her hair shone each time she moved, and it was like watching the sparkling ocean water. Zero was swept up in her wave of radiance and didn't notice everyone looking at him.
Fefnir waved his hand in front of Zero's face. "Hey, hey! We'll go tomorrow, alright?"
Zero snapped back to reality. "Oh, yeah. Sure. I'm going to…go."
He walked out hastily, and Leviathan kept her eyes on him the entire time. Boy, were the soldiers green with envy as green as their uniforms! Fefnir crossed his arms and pouted childishly. Another day of waiting. That guy doesn't look tough! He probably isn't. Probably.
Change of scene
You'd think as one of the Neo Arcadian Guardians he would never miss a thing. Harpuia was thinking to himself, missing the sign that read "Command Room" and walked past it. Now, he wondered where he was, utterly lost. That's about the last time I drift off like that. He meant that in more ways than one. Fortunately, the directions he would need came cavorting up to him. Unfortunately, he wasn't exactly in the mood to play with Alouette. She smiled brightly and sported her vermilion shades on her cheeks. Any pugnacious emotions he had felt earlier on melted right away when she smiled in front of him. All at once, he remembered that he kept a promise with Alouette before he left. He hoped she didn't remember.
"Piggy-back!" If Alouette were a light bulb, she would have shone right out of the glass. She leaped onto Harpuia's back and tapped her feet on his armor, which he kept on.
Well I'll be damned, she remembered. "Alright, one ride. But that's all I'm offering!" He smirked and started to carry Alouette here and there on his back, with her screaming at the top of her lungs. The Emerald Playmate was walking while he carried her, but now he started to pick up the pace. Now he was practically running! This exhilarated Alouette, increasing the amplitude in her high-pitched scream. If he hadn't open his eyes for one moment, he would have crashed into Old Andrew. Thankfully, he stopped just in time with his feet screeching on the floor. The wise reploid smiled without looking at Harpuia, but he knew that the Guardian was there. The last time they met, Harpuia was told to "find his soul." So far, it hadn't been working. Although Harpuia didn't say anything, Old Andrew could already tell from the silence that the Guardian wasn't successful. Yet.
"It doesn't just appear in front of you." Andrew scratched his butt and resumed his position.
"I suppose it wouldn't be that easy," Harpuia frowned. " but I didn't think it would be so…difficult."
Old Andrew raised a brow. " Did I hear that right? Did I just hear Harpuia admit something is too…difficult?"
Harpuia scoffed. "Yes."
"Come on now, sonny. You make it sound like it's a hard thing. It's whether you realize what to do. Maybe some people or 'ploids can't see it. Maybe it takes them a long time to see what's in front of them. Perhaps you should rip off the blindfold and face the facts."
"Which are?"
Old Andrew shrugged. "Only you know the truth. You just have to be man enough to face them."
The truth? Well, the truth is…
"Harpuia? Are you done already?" Alouette tapped her hand on The Emerald Guardian's helmet.
The truth is that I have things to do. But first… "One more round." Harpuia smirked and started with a speedy dash.
"Yip-pee!" Alouette held on tightly.
Change of scene
Ciel was in her lab reviewing her Ciel System once more. It was finally finished, but she couldn't just stop there. She double, triple, and quadruple-checked the entire system to see if it was legit. Now that her system was finally completed, she would just need a medium of powerful energy to set off the Ciel System. Without question, the Dark Elf came into her mind, but where was it? And would it really work it the Dark Elf were to be used? The Bright Scientist had her doubts, and also felt guilty using the Dark Elf for such…duties. It never was free, especially after Weil's curse. Would she really trap it forever using the Ciel System? She was torn apart to do the right thing.
The doors slid open.
"Hello, Zero." Ciel said with her face glued to the screen. She didn't even need to look at him to know he was there. Her tone had no emotion in it, and it droned.
Zero raised a brow. "Er, hey Ciel. I heard you were done with the Ciel System. So how does it work?"
Ciel rubbed her eyes. "Well, it simply is able to take energy and produce it in limitless amounts. That is to say, the energy source must be very powerful, or else you get tidbits of energy with anything else. The thing is, you and I both know there is only one thing that could be powerful enough."
"The Dark Elf."
"Precisely. Only problem is, we don't know where it is." Ciel's face had a downcast expression.
Zero walked to Ciel and put his hand on her shoulder. "I could tell that isn't the only problem."
Ciel half-smiled. "Yes. Oh Zero, I don't know if what we do with the Dark Elf is no better than what Weil did to her. I mean, all she wants to do is to be free. What would you do?"
"Don't forget Ciel, before Weil put the curse on her, she was created for good. That was her purpose. All she wanted to do was to help the world with justice and for the better good. If she were cured, I think she would devote herself to the Ciel System."
Ciel wiped a tear off of her cheek. "You think so, Zero?"
Zero handed her tissue. "Definitely."
"Oh Zero…"
"What is it, Ciel?"
"Thank you."
"No problem, Ciel." Zero took a sip of Ciel's coffee and walked out of the room. He cheered up Ciel. That felt good, but he couldn't help but to feel as if he walked out empty-handed. He didn't realize how late it was. The Sleepy Maverick Hunter stretched out his arms and walked over to his room. He just woke up from a coma and he already felt tired. Was he tired from waking up, or from today's activities? The back of his head told him to do something more, and the night was young. However, he needed the rest for tomorrow. With a final yawn, Zero arrived at the doorstep of his room and walked in, immediately leaping onto the bed.
Change of scene
"I still don't understand why we need to go through with this." The medium-sized cloaked figure said. The rest of her cloak concealed most of her body. The only thing that was revealed was a side of her short, midnight blue hair. She stood leaning against the metal gate, speaking to the large one. The giant stood with his massive arms crossed and listening intently to the medium one. Out of the three, those two got along rather well. The short one was a bit too annoying to even tolerate, with his accent and attitude. As annoying as he was, they had to keep him for this assignment. One of the reasons Omega picked him was that he got the job done, regardless of size. At the moment the short one wasn't "getting the job done," but rather playing one of Fefnir's videogames in his room.
"True. Our goal is to eradicate all humans, yet we are waiting for our prey to come to us. In fact, they aren't our prey at all. Right now we should be breaking down these gates while we can, instead of patiently waiting for them. It's just using up precious time." The large one tapped his fingers on his other shoulder.
"I understand where you are coming from. I want to finish this as well. I want to enjoy the world without humans already. Forget the assignment. Why don't you and me break these gates down right now?" The medium one already had her short sword in her hand.
The large one shook his head. "We have to follow orders. At least, for now. Be patient." Suddenly, the large one formed a fist with his right hand and punched the gate. The strength of his fist shook the gate and the entire building. All he managed was a fairly noticeable dent. "As you can see, perhaps you should try to be more patient than I am, at the moment."
The medium one shook her head and touched the large one's arm. Then she ran it up all the way to his shadowed face under his hood. She caressed it gently. "Maybe we both should start to try now." Her voice was as soft as snow.
"When this is all over…we could finally…"
The medium one interrupted the large one. "I know. When it's over."
Whatever moment they had was burned away when the short one walked in the room. "Ey, when dey gonna come, yo?"
The giant frowned under his hood, but maintained his deep voice. "Whenever they intend to. Everyone, head to a Temple immediately. Wait for them there."
The short one shrugged. "Ju da boss." He walked out of the room.
The medium one walked away without looking back and headed for a Temple. The giant rubbed the dent he made on the gate.
"When it's over…"
Change of scene
Zero couldn't sleep. Well, he was asleep a minute ago. He had heard an odd noise coming from outside of his room. It was too soft for Zero to try to figure out what it was, but it was definitely something. The sound just kept repeating itself for five minutes straight! Giving in, Zero got out of bed and walked towards the doors. They slid open, and Zero peeked outside. The hallway was dark, and there was only one room with the lights on, and it was farther down the hall. Before he could even take a step, the doors to that room opened. It was Ciel, coming out of the restroom (there was only one, since Ciel was the only human and she needed to urinate). She had her hair let down and it was still wet. Oddly enough, she still wore her regular dress she wears everyday, but she didn't have her stockings on. In her left hand, she held a bottle of shampoo. The Bright Scientist finally noticed Zero and greeted him softly, trying not to wake anyone up.
"Hi Zero."
"Hey, Ciel."
Ciel walked closer to Zero, getting ready to ask him some questions. All of the sudden, she dropped her bottle.
"Oops! Clumsy me." She bent down to pick up the bottle. Not only did she not wear her stockings, but she didn't seem to wear any undergarments either. Zero had a pretty good view of Ciel's…
Change of scene
Zero bolted sitting straight on his bed. He was sweating throughout his entire body, and he breathed heavily.
"What a…dream." He walked into his bathroom and washed his face. As cold as the water was, he still was sweating. He had never felt so overheated before. Wow. I really don't know what happened back there…
All of the sudden, a there was a knocking on his doors. No one knocks anymore.
What the…? Why would there be a knock if the doors automatically slide open? And why aren't the doors open? Zero didn't bother to wipe off the water on his face and went straight to the door. He pressed the button on the wall (another obsolete feature until now). When the doors opened, Leviathan was standing in front of the room entrance with a towel around her body. Her bare body. Zero could feel the water on his face boil.
"I have to say, Zero, your showers aren't that great here. The water isn't cold enough. Can I use your shower?" Leviathan tilted her head to peek at Zero's bathroom.
The Unshakeable Maverick Hunter would have fallen right off of his knees. Here Leviathan was, standing in front of him with only a towel on.
"Zero? Are you paying attention?" Leviathan waved both of her hands in front of Zero's face. Fortunately, her hands weren't holding her towel, so it easily fell off of her body. And right there, Zero had a pretty good view of Leviathan.
Change of scene
Zero bolted straight up, and this time he bolted straight out of the bed as well. Another heated dream like that, and I might just fizzle out. His body was even sweatier than before, and his sheets stuck to him. He struggled to try to get them off. After he did, he made another trip to the bathroom and washed his face off. And for a second time, it didn't help. He dried off his face this time. The Awake Maverick Hunter was about to jump back into bed for another attempt at sleeping, but then the doors slid open.
Fefnir was standing outside of the room with only a towel on. His skin was a faded brown, but it was night so it wasn't very noticeable. "Zero! Are you the one who put the shower water to cold? You son of a…"
"I don't know what you're talking about…" Zero was confused and wasn't exactly comfortable to be talking with Fefnir when it's late at night and when he's wearing a towel.
"Damn it Zero you know what I'm talking about!" Fefnir slammed both of his hands on the sides of the room. This caused the towel to fall off Fefnir's waist. Zero had an appalling view of Fefnir's third Arm Cannon.
Change of scene
"Ahhhhhh!" Zero bolted straight up. However, he wasn't on his bed. He was on the floor. When he bolted up, he brought his head with him, and it hit the door with a loud thud. He screamed out again and rubbed his head. He wasn't sweaty anymore, in fact, he was chilly.
What a nightmare! He looked at his clock. It read 2:13 AM. The Exhausted Maverick hunter climbed back into bed and pull the sheets over his head. That is the last time I drink coffee before sleeping.
Change of scene
Fefnir and Zero were waiting in the center of the Command Room. Zero hadn't had much of a sleep, but he was still in active shape. However, he wasn't able to look Leviathan and Ciel straight in the eye after the dreams he had. As for Fefnir, he couldn't look at him at all. While the Operators put in the coordinates, Zero breathed deeply and tried to look past the dream. The alarm blared and the two got ready. They stood straight and upright while everyone else waved good-bye to them. Well, at least the Resistance soldiers waved to Zero. Only Harpuia and Leviathan waved to Fefnir. The bright light illuminated the entire room and the two were gone.
Change of scene
They both arrived at the entrance of the Temple of Fire. Large pillars sprouted from the ceiling and ended right above the lava. Some parts of the pillars were crumbled, so they were easier to break than the pillar parts that weren't broken. Unfortunately, Zero would be heavily injured by lava, and he needed to save some room for the upcoming cloaked figure. Fefnir, however, smirked widely. The dimples on his face almost touched his ears. All Fefnir had to do was to just run through, since he was immune to fire attacks, the lava might as well have been bath water to him. He did so, and he didn't even wait for Zero.
"Better catch up, Zero! Hah!" Fefnir gloated loudly and rammed through any pillars blocking his way.
Even though he couldn't touch lava, he would still try to find a way across. The Tellybombs were deactivated, but Zero had his own plan. Before he left the Resistance Base, Cerveau gave him enhanced versions of the Triple Rod and a new Recoil Rod. He said you should utilize these three weapons. Sam had helped Cerveau fix them up, so it was done very quickly.
The Blond Bomber was determined to catch up with Fefnir, so he drew his Chain Rod and shot it at a pillar. The tip stuck itself in the pillar. Zero gave it a small tug to make sure it was deep enough to hold. He took a couple of steps back, and swung over the lava. At the height of his arc, he withdrew the Chain Rod and was headed straight for a pillar. Zero was charging his Recoil Rod, however, and used the charged attack to smash the pillar away. The rod blasted the parts away and made a clearing for Zero. He saw that he was catching up with Fefnir. He wouldn't lose this race.
They went through a few more pillars until they finally reached the door out of the pillar area. Zero was about to open it by touching it, but Fefnir rammed through it and broke it down. He shrugged and followed Fefnir. When they arrived at the next room, they were greeted with a long pool of lava and some cannons on the ceiling, waiting for them to come. Fefnir snorted.
"Those cannons are going to slow us down." Fefnir crossed his arms.
Zero didn't need to take a hint at what Fefnir was trying to imply. Fefnir didn't want to take any damage before the big guy, so he wanted Zero to do the dirty work first. The Legendary Maverick Hunter sighed, but what had to be done had to be done. "Alright. I'll hop onto your back and you carry me while I take care of those cannons."
Fefnir smirked and Zero hopped on. The Hothead Guardian took off with a running start while Zero shot down the cannons with his Z-buster. Farther down, there were some Panel Cannons getting ready to shoot. Zero drew his Chain Rod and stabbed one Panel Cannon with the tip. With a strong tug, he threw that Panel Cannon into another one, both exploding on contact. The others were shaken by the explosion, so Zero shot the rest down.
The next room had many platforms and a switch at the top. Zero leaped form platform to platform working his way up to the switch. Fefnir shot Blast Shots near Zero, which nearly hit him.
"Watch it!" Zero yelled.
"Watch those Panel Cannons first." Fefnir pointed to the Panel Cannons near him. Fefnir only was providing cover fire. Zero was a little suspicious, however. He hit the switch on the top and Fefnir climbed up.
When they reached the end, they both were in front of the last door of the last room before the Big Guy. Zero gestured for Fefnir to open the door, and Fefnir rammed it down.
"This is your own Temple, you know. I didn't think you'd ram down the doors like this…"
Fefnir scoffed. "That bastard took over this place anyways. I'm going to renovate the entire Temple when I'm through with this."
The last room had lava rising up, and the door was all the way up to the ceiling level. Zero and Fefnir both looked up, both knowing what to do. How to do it, well, they had different ideas for that.
"If we hurry and climb up there, we should be able to make it." Zero crouched and got ready to jump.
"Heh! Do it the hard way! I got my own way! Hell of a lot faster, too!" Fefnir sneered.
"Oh yeah?" Zero crossed his arms.
"Watch and learn, kid. Hop onto my back!" Fefnir crouched and got ready.
Zero jumped onto Fefnir's back. Odd. He calls me a kid, but I'm over a century old. Hmph.
Fefnir jumped onto the center platform, which was crumbling. The lava was also getting closer, too. Right before the platform fell, Fefnir pointed both of his Arm Cannons at the platform and released two Blast Shots. The force of those shots propelled them high above, and Zero jumped off, landing near the final door. Fefnir, however, was less agile and was falling back down. Zero threw the end of the Chain Rod at Fefnir for him to hold. The Guardian grabbed on for his dear life and hung on. Fefnir was a bit heavy for Zero, so he transformed into Power Form and gained the strength to pull him up. When they both were on the ground, each of them looked at the door. Behind that door would be the first of the Three Mysterious Figures, who seem to be working with Reploforce. Zero gestured for Fefnir to break down the door, but Fefnir just stared at Zero. The Maverick Hunter laughed and stepped in front of the door, allowing it to open.
When the doors slid open, Zero and Fefnir found themselves in a large room. It was very large, with the ceiling way up high, and barely visible. All around them was just rock, cooled off after being molten. Zero was relieved that there wasn't any lava, but that would have been the least of his worries. The large cloaked figure stood in the center of the room, next to a machine of some sort. It had two holes, which were probably for the hands. Zero didn't have time to think, as the cloaked figure spoke.
"So both of you have come. Perfect. Zero, the Legendary Maverick Hunter himself. It will be an honor to do battle with you. Fefnir, the third Guardian of Neo Arcadia. So, we have unfinished business, don't we?"
Fefnir clenched his fist. "Damn right we do!"
The large figure put his hands into the machine. "Then I suppose we should get started." The machine whirred on and electricity sparked out of the large figure's hands. After a few seconds, the power surged through his entire body and his muscles bulged, tearing his cloak into shreds.
The reploid wore a black jumpsuit with yellow armor. On his hands were gauntlets that were bigger than his head. On his chest he wore a large, thick chest plate that had a small Reploforce symbol on the top left-hand corner. Around his neck, he wore a thick, huge circular ring that completely gobbled up his neck and it looked very heavy. Everything he wore looked thick and heavy. Yet still, the reploid stood upright 6'6 as if he had no armor on at all. He was bald, but a gas mask covered his face. His muscles barely fitted his armor. A centimeter more toned and the armor would have broken right off.
Reploforce High-Voltage Thunder Gargantuan
Zeus
"I am Zeus." The gargantuan said tersely as he took his hands out of the machine. He pounded the ground with one fist and his arm sparked. Zeus flexed his muscles and pounded his hands together in fists.
Zero drew his Z-saber and equipped the Ice Chip on. His armor changed into a light blue color, and his saber grew with blue energy.
Fefnir already had his Arm Cannon on, so he cracked his fingers and started to shoot several Blast Shots.
Zeus put up his Thunder Barrier and neutralized the shots. Zero, however, dashed towards Zeus and slashed the barrier open. By the time Zeus noticed, Zero already slashed Zeus three times with his combo and fired a charged Split Shot at Zeus' armor. It froze that spot for a little while, but the ice soon melted after that. The saber slashes didn't even make a scratch on Zeus' armor. The Blond Bomber gulped, realizing the ineffectiveness of his attacks. The Gargantuan punched Zero hard and sent him flying into a wall. His armor gave out two layers and he bled by the mouth. Only one regular punch and he already took large amounts of damage. This was going to be harder than Zero thought.
Fefnir didn't really care and phased on his second Arm Cannon. With both in hand, he fired rapid Blast Shots at Zeus. Almost effortlessly, he put up the Thunder Barrier again and neutralized all of the shots. The large reploid electrified his hand and pulled Fefnir in with his electric grip. Zeus tightened his grip and slowly crushed Fefnir, and also electrified him with thousands of bolts of electricity. The Guardian cried out in pain, and Zero was going to respond.
He charged up another Split Shot, but now he knew where to aim. He shot it towards Zeus' face. Since he wasn't looking, he got blind-sighted by the shot and snapped back, dropping Fefnir in the process. The Legendary Maverick Hunter dashed up to Zeus, charging up his Z-saber. Zeus recovered his form and shot a Surge Wave at Zero. It traveled along the ground with sparks of electricity. Zero leaped up high in the air, avoiding the entire attack. When he came down, he struck Zeus with a fully charged saber attack. It hit his armor instead of his face, because Zeus moved a split-second before the full attack could come in contact with his face. It hit the armor, and had no noticeable effect.
Zeus clasped his hands together and started to charge up. Before Zero or Fefnir could do anything, a burst of electricity came out of his body. It was more like an electric wave that pushed Zero and Fefnir back.
"Surge Burst!" Zeus pushed them both back with a Surge Burst.
The two heroes both ended up getting hit near a wall. Fefnir was more damaged than Zero. Seeing that none of them could do it alone, he decided to let Fefnir use a Cyber-elf to heal himself. Zero went through his list and picked out Satick. He handed the container to Fefnir.
"Here, use this!" Zero set the container down by Fefnir's side and dashed towards Zeus. The gargantuan ran towards the machine and inserted his hands in there. The machine whirred on and Zeus' body started to charge up again. The machine was his power source.
We've got to destroy that machine! Zero aimed his Z-buster at the machine and fired a charged shot. However, Zeus was ready and swatted it away with his hand. Then, Zeus used his electromagnetic energy to boost his speed and appeared right next to Zero. It was so fast that Zero didn't even have time to even catch a sight of Zeus. The gargantuan grabbed Zero and stretched the Maverick Hunter's body over his neck. Then he electrocuted Zero. Thousands of jolts shocked Zero and was causing great damage. As if that weren't enough, Zeus leaped up high into the air and turned upside-down in mid-air. When he came back down, he slammed Zero into the ground.
Fefnir only watched in horror, realizing his uselessness. He wasn't even contributing in this fight at all. No wonder Zero beats me. I'm a failure… He sulked his head down, not even watching how Zero was doing against Zeus. He might as well have died, seeing how he couldn't beat anybody anymore.
Satick came out of his container and hovered next to Fefnir. He had a proud expression on his face, and seemed happy. "Hey! I'm Satick, and I got the power to heal you completely!"
"Don't waste your time, Elf." Fefnir just stared at the ground.
"Zero told me to help you, and that's my purpose! Now come on, let me heal you!"
"Zero? He told you to help me?" He couldn't believe it. He stooped so low that Zero had to help him, and now Zero was taking the fight all by himself! He got up and grabbed the Satick.
"Heal me!" Fefnir roared.
"You got it!" Satick circled around Fefnir and sealed the cracks in his armor, as well as the broken structure parts (bones) in his body. Then he disappeared into Fefnir's chest.
All at once Fefnir felt rejuvenated. Now he was ready to fight again. And the thought of Zero taking all the credit for the fight enraged him. He did not want to be outdone by Zero. He phased off his Arm Cannon, wanting to settle this by fighting hand-to-hand. The adrenaline was inside Fefnir and red energy burst out of his body. Fefnir ran towards Zeus and leaped up high in the air. Zeus noticed this and he charged up one fist. Fefnir ignited his right fist with fire as he came down, and Zeus charged up his right fist with electricity. Fefnir threw a falling Flaming Fist at Zeus and the gargantuan threw a diagonal Thunder Punch. The fists collided together and the elemental energies from both fists came together and caused a large explosion.
Even in the smoke of the explosion, Fefnir and Zeus were still fighting. The red energy grew as Fefnir attacked Zeus with many punches. Zeus blocked with his left hand and swung low with his right arm. The Bellicose Bruiser jumped up to avoid the arm and double-fisted punched Zeus' face. The gargantuan staggered back, fixing his gas mask on. Fefnir wouldn't let him, so he repeatedly swung at Zeus with lefts and rights. Zeus was lacking in energy, so he felt every single hit. Even the armor he wore was giving out.
"Come on big man! Show me what you got!" Fefnir gloated while he was fighting, and it seemed to work.
Needing energy, Zeus slapped Fefnir away while he was gloating. Fefnir fell to the ground, but he wasn't injured. Zeus used this time to head for the machine for more power, but Zero stood next to it.
"I don't think so." Zero sliced it into pieces with his Z-saber and it blew up.
Now Zeus had no way of regaining energy. Zero fired a charged Split Shot at Zeus' face and all three shots hit right on target. Zeus staggered back again, but was met by Fefnir.
"Forgot about me?" Fefnir swung again with repeated lefts and rights all over Zeus' body. The armor started to crack now. The Bellicose Bruiser smirked and picked up Zeus. His strength had increased greatly. With a mighty throw, Zeus hit the ground hard, flying a few feet away. Fefnir phased on both of his Arm Cannons. With no energy to bring up a Thunder Barrier, Zeus was open for any kind of attack. Fefnir charged up his Arm Cannons and laughed.
"Where's your damn barrier now huh?" Fefnir shot several Blast Shots at Zeus, this time each hitting him, exploding on the gargantuan armor and blowing some layers of it off. Others hit Zeus' forearms while others hit his face. The explosion radius grew with every shot. The smoke clouded the room, but Fefnir wasn't finished yet. He phased off his Arm Cannons and yelled. The red energy around him grew twice in size as the ground started to shake.
"Hellfire!" A large pillar of lava sprouted up from the ground where Zeus was and covered him inside the pillar. Even layers of armor could not stand against lava. Surely Zeus would be melted by the time Fefnir was done with his attack. But Fefnir still wasn't done. The Guardian phased his Arm Cannons back on. Fire started to sprout from the barrels of the cannons. He aimed them both at the pillar of lava Zeus was in.
"Heat Viper!" Two streams of fire blast out of the cannon and headed for the pillar. When it blended into the pillar, it became round and started to grow bigger. Then it exploded forming a large pillar of fire and lava. The explosion was very great, so Zero had to run away from the blast radius so he wouldn't get melted. The shock rocked the room and melted most of the rock on the ground.
The area where the pillar formed was now a pool of fiery hot lava. Zero tried to shake off what just happened. He had never seen Fefnir attack like that before. All he could do was just stare in awe.
Fefnir smirked and flexed his muscles, emphasizing his masculinity. He had to admit, he never did an attack like that before. Was the Cyber-elf that must of a power boost? Whether or not it was, Fefnir admitted that the Cyber-elf attributed some part into Fefnir's sudden win. But his victory was short-lived.
There was a small strip of rock in the center of the pool of lava. Zeus stood with his armor charred-black and steam coming out of his body. His gas mask was also charred, but it wasn't melted. Even with the intense heat of the attack, Zeus still lived. Fefnir and Zero couldn't believe their eyes. This reploid was very, very tough!
"You know, this armor wasn't meant for protection. It was a restraint." He grabbed the gauntlets on his hands and took them off. When he did, the skin on his hands was burned due the hot gauntlets, but he didn't flinch. He threw them onto the ground below him, and the ground shook when they landed. Each must have weighed hundreds of pounds. Then he grabbed the large ring around his neck and threw it in the pool of lava. It didn't melt, but it did sink down. Drops of lava splashed when it was in the lava, and a large wave was made from it as well. It must have weighed close to a ton, if not half.
Only the gas mask remained. His hand was much larger than his head, so Zeus simply flicked the mask off. It fell into the lava and sunk. The Gargantuan had a hideous face. He had black eyes, iris and all. His snout stuck out and he had whiskers coming out of the sides. His black nose sniffed the smell of molten lava. His ears stuck up. Zero and Fefnir couldn't believe it. Zeus had a face of a rat! Although he looked like a combination of a muscular gargantuan and a rat face, now he had a squeakier voice. However, it was less intimidating with the rat's mouth moving.
"You never expected this, did you? Well, this is my true form." Zeus raised his arms into the air, trying to touch the sky. Suddenly, a bolt of thunder came from the ceiling (which was far up) and electrocuted Zeus. With that spark of electricity, Zeus' body started to expand. He growled as he body grew bigger, wider, taller. Zero and Fefnir could only watch as Zeus grew twenty times his own size. Now they had to deal with a giant electric rodent (sound familiar?)!
Zero frowned, not liking the situation he was currently in. Zeus stood towering over them several stories high. He knew there must be some way to beat him, regardless of size. Size doesn't matter.
Fefnir, however, didn't agree. His knees were shaking uncontrollably. He ran out of the room with his tail between his legs. Zero couldn't believe it. A moment ago Fefnir was taking the fight head-on, but now off he went. Now only Zero stood against Zeus. It was one-on-one. Zeus laughed his hearty laugh, which echoed through the entire room.
"I knew that fool would show his true colors." Zeus lifted up his leg and brought it down towards Zero.
Zero switched into his Active Form and dashed out of the way before he was going to get squashed. Zeus stuck a finger at Zero and charged it up with electricity The veins in his arms pulsated up and were showing. They acted as wires to bring the electricity to Zeus' finger. A bolt of lightning shot out of his finger at headed straight for Zero. The Legendary Maverick Hunter was in no condition to avoid attacks like that, so he was struck by lightning.
"Argh!" Zero was shot back into a wall. His armor only had a layer left before it gave away fully and his body was getting numb. There was no way he could possibly beat down Zeus now. At least, not without some more help.
The room started to shake, but Zeus wasn't even moving. Something else, something big was making the ground shake.
That's when something large broke through the wall. It was a large red…robot? It's armor was bright red. Its helmet was a darker red, and it had a V symbol on it. A large Arm Cannon was equipped on its left arm while its right was bare. The robot looked very similar to Fefnir, and the robot matched Zeus for his size.
"Now it's time to really heat things up!" It was Fefnir speaking using the robot's speaker. The Bellicose Bruiser now had a giant robot to control. "Let's go! Fefnir-Bot 5!" The gigantic robot posed and flexed its titanium muscles.
Now I've seen everything. Zero didn't know whether to be impressed or to be laughing. He did a combination of both.
Fefnir-Bot 5 ran up to Zeus and delivered a strong right hook to Zeus' rat face. The impact of the punch shook the entire room. Zeus retaliated by grabbing Fefnir-Bot 5's neck and choke-slamming it into a wall. Zero was on the ground, and he tried his best to get out of the way. Fefnir-Bot 5 aimed his Giant Arm Cannon at Zeus' face and shot a Blast Shot at point-blank range. Zeus staggered back, but he remained unharmed. In his true form, he had electricity flowing through his body, so fire attacks were completely useless now. Zeus head-butted Fefnir-Bot 5 and rammed him deeper into the wall. Next, he grabbed Fefnir-Bot 5's head and squeezed it. The head was where Fefnir was controlling the bot, and the space around him was closing in fast. In desperation, he hit a red button on the control panel and Fefnir-Bot 5 kneed Zeus in the groin area.
Zeus really felt it there that time. He snapped back, clutching his crotch with his hands. Zero recognized on opportunity. If Fefnir were to fight hand-to-hand, the fight would drag on. But, if Zero were to limit Zeus' power, Fefnir could attack with fire and it would be effective. So Zero decided he would travel on Zeus' body and cut the veins that supplied him with power. The Daring Maverick Hunter climbed the wall using his Recoil Rod as a brace. When Zeus came into range, Zero jumped off of the wall and onto Zeus' shoulder. He was a flea compared to Zeus. The gargantuan had no idea that Zero was on him.
Fefnir didn't, either. Fefnir-Bot 5 just kept swinging punches left to right at Zeus, and Zero had to hold on for his dear life. He used his communicator to contact Fefnir.
"Damn it Fefnir! Settle down! I'm on Zeus, you know!" Zero spoke into the communicator.
"Holy shit really? What are you doing on him?" Fefnir said to Zero as he pushed Zeus' face into a wall.
"I'm going to cut off his power sources. Until then, keep him busy, but don't knock me over!"
"Whatever." Fefnir choked Zeus by the neck, keeping him still for a few seconds. Zero was already standing on a vein, so he used the Sharp Edge technique to leap up and stab the vein with an Ice attack. The saber sunk through, and Zero gave it a jerk to the right and sliced off one vein. There were a few more major veins to cut off, and that should be enough to bring Zeus' power down.
Unfortunately, Zeus recovered from the low blow and elbowed the Fefnir-Bot in the stomach area. This knocked it back a few feet away, and Zeus connected with a swinging right hook. Following that, Zeus rammed Fefnir-Bot into a wall and electrocuted the Fefnir-Bot using his hands. It was less effective than its full power, but it got the job done. Fefnir was also electrocuted inside his bot, and the vitality level grew lower. Damn it Zero hurry up!
Three veins were already cut while Fefnir-Bot took some hits. Now only two more remained. Zero dashed to a vein on Zeus' left arm, but he moved too soon. Zeus body-slammed Fefnir-Bot, throwing Zero out of position. He nearly fell to the ground, but he used his Recoil Rod to catch himself on Zeus' knee. With quick reflexes, he shot his Chain Rod at Zeus' underarm. Zeus was about to knee Fefnir-Bot, but before he could Zero swung with his Chain Rod all the way over Zeus' arm and landed on top of it. A quick slash of his Z-saber was all he needed to take out that vein. Now the only one left was on Zeus' neck. The Blond Bomber dashed towards Zeus' neck, almost there.
Just then, Zeus used energy stocked before the veins were cut and shot two bolts of thunder at Fefnir-Bot 5. The shots electrocuted the bot and the vitality nose-dived. The meter read 30 on Fefnir's screen.
"Damn!" Fefnir pounded on the controls. Not only did his vitality level drop, but his bot had no more energy to launch some fire attacks. He only had enough for one last attack.
Zero was falling off of Zeus' shoulder after being shaken like that. As he fell, he drew his Chain Rod once more and had about one second to aim and fire. He threw the Chain Rod towards Zeus' neck and the tip stabbed right into the last vein. The Legendary Maverick Hunter hung from the Chain Rod. With one final tug, he yanked the vein out and it ripped off of Zeus' skin. Zero fell down below and landed on the ground with a thud. His armor was totally wasted now. He activated his communicator and said to Fefnir, "Do it now! Finish him!"
Fefnir listened and pushed Zeus away. Then he aimed his Arm Cannon at Zeus for one final blast. There were five bars on the Arm Cannon, and each filled up one at a time. The first one filled up. Then the second one filled up. Zeus was back to his feet. Without energy, he couldn't put up a Thunder Barrier, nor withstand fire attacks head-on. The third bar filled up. Zeus roared loudly and started to run towards Fefnir-Bot 5. The fourth one filled up. Just as Zeus was about to punch out Fefnir-Bot 5, Fefnir activated the speaker and yelled, "Level 5 Blast Shot!" The fifth bar filled up.
The shot came right out and hit Zeus right on the spot. The resulting explosion knocked him back into a wall. However, he was still active.
"Damn! That was the last amount of attacking energy I have left!" Fefnir pounded on the controls.
Crap, we're doomed! Zero knew of nothing else to do.
But Fefnir did. He used the Fefnir-Bot 5 to tackle Zeus and grab a hold of him. "I have one attack left to finish this guy. But, it will be my last attack." Fefnir smirked. "I'm going to detonate Fefnir-Bot 5 so I can take this guy out!"
"Fefnir no! You'll be destroyed along with Zeus and the bot!" Zero said.
"Whatever! As long as this Zeus guy goes out too! I'm not going to lose this one!" Fefnir paused. "Zero…tell everyone I'm sorry. I know it's not the smartest thing to do, but it has to be done!"
Fefnir-Bot 5 grew with red energy bursting out of its armor. Fefnir opened the cockpit window so Zero could see him. He waved at Zero, flashing a smile similar to the smile Satick had.
"Level Five Eruption!" The Fefnir-Bot 5 illuminated with red energy until it exploded. Smoke crowded the entire room and the top of the room was blown off. The Temple of Fire shook violently as lava burst out and flowed into rivers traveling throughout the Temple.
When the explosion had past, Zero rose from the gravel. He looked around the Temple, but all he found were parts of the Fefnir-Bot 5 and parts of Zeus, who was successfully destroyed by Fefnir. But at what cost?
Zero found Fefnir's Arm Cannon on the ground. It was charred and broken, but Zero picked it up. The Legendary Maverick Hunter sighed and placed it where parts of Zeus lay.
"Your sacrifice was not in vain, Fefnir. Rest in peace, friend." As he turned to teleport back to base, he stepped on something. It felt like something hard, and it made a muffled groan sound. Zero looked under his feet and saw that he was stepping on Fefnir's face! The Bellicose Bruiser was unconscious, but alive! Zero couldn't believe it.
"That was one hell of a fake death. On a scale of one to five, I would give you a five. Five for Fighting Fefnir." He smirked and saw the maintenance mechaniloids hovering over Fefnir. He activated his communicator and called the Operators.
"Trans me back. Fefnir will be staying at his Temple." Zero disappeared in a white flash of light.
It would seem Fefnir made the ultimate sacrifice. And he lived. He said to himself he wasn't good, but he fooled himself. Not many can die a heroic death and come back. It was as if he never died at all.
Author: Well, this has been by far the longest chapter I've typed so far. I've changed my e-mail address, but FFN won't let me change it in my profile. Sigh. I'm going to keep trying, so don't e-mail me just yet. Read and review please, and the next one will be coming soon!